Beast Feast by Douglas Florian, Douglas Florian (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

In this hilarious collection of twenty-one original animal poems and paintings, the animals are out in all their finned, furry, and feathered glory. From lobsters to rheas to fireflies, kiwis to camels to chameleons, here’s a beast for everyone to love!

Publishers Weekly

Florian ( Monster Motel ; Vegetable Garden ) indeed presents a feast--for the eyes and the ears--in this cheerful collection of brief, bouncy poems describing an eclectic roundup of animals. Each focusing on a single ``beast,'' the entries range from snappy two-liners (``The rhea rheally isn't strange-- / It's just an ostrich, rhearranged'') to relatively longer poems of cleverly rhymed couplets. Florian's distinctive, full-page watercolors are as playful as his verse: a chameleon (whose hue changes ``from mousy browns to leafy greens / And several colors in between'') holds an artist's palette and paintbrush; and the ``tubby toad'' (who is ``so squat and plump / That rarely does it even jump'') weighs in on a bathroom scale. An ideal read-aloud, this volume will leave young listeners as lighthearted as its own contents. Ages 4-8. (Apr.)

Children's Literature

Florian has created a humorous collection of poems and pictures featuring a number of unusual creatures. The armadillo, anteater, chameleon, and ant are among the twenty-one "beasts" celebrated. Most of the pictures incorporate visual humor than exemplifies the silly verse or adds another touch of the absurd such as the series of underground tunnels dug by the ants that spell out the words "Ant City." or "The Rhea / The rhea rheally isn't strange - / It's just an ostrich, rhearranged." It is all accompanied by equally clever watercolor paintings that look like kids could have created them. A nice light touch and a delightful way to introduce kids to poetry. Good for reading aloud. 1998 (orig.

School Library Journal

Gr 1-4-A colorful and clever assemblage of 21 animals, from the walrus (``The pounding spatter/Of salty sea/ makes the walrus/Walrusty.'') to the kiwi (``Wings so small./No tail at all./ Very rare./Feathers like hair./Quiet and shy./Cannot fly./They call you a bird,/But I don't know why.''). Each brief poem employs an Ogden Nashian twist of language, a small surprise, or a happy insight into the familiar. The book's design is as appealing as the verses themselves, pairing each selection with a full-page, splashy, bordered watercolor. Large type, surrounded by plenty of white space, will appeal to younger readers. This collection is an uncluttered, short presentation by an author/illustrator who knows what children will find funny-add to that the bonus of factual information tucked into each poem, and the result is a winner. It's easy to imagine readers becoming inspired to write and illustrate their own poems after spending time with Florian. Clearly a wonderful book.- Lee Bock, Brown County Public Libraries, Green Bay, WI

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